Category Archives: Literature

A lesson to learn from Peter Jackson (or, stating the obvious, part infinity plus eight)

By terje | Published: July 19, 2009
(Disclaimer: The following, while containing at least some opinions the author can sort of be said to hold, is more of an exploration than a presentation of ideas. It should all therefore be taken with a few barrelfuls of salt.) So I’m watching the appendices on the Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition DVD, and as [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Annoyance, Art, GRRM, Harry Potter, History, Hodge-podge rambling, Impressions, Language, Malazan, Movies, Opinions, Rant, Scott Lynch, Speculations, Speculative fiction, WoT | 3 Comments

The books of 2009, so far

By terje | Published: July 13, 2009
As I’ve been fairly absent from my blog in the past six months, to say the least, I thought I’d post a quick summary of any recommendable books — and not only novels this time – I’ve read since I was last observed round this neck o’ the woods. Also, I’ll include some not-so-recommendable books, [...]
Also posted in History, Impressions, Lists, Opinions, Recommendations, Review, Roman stuff, Speculative fiction | 20 Comments

Arms of Nemesis by Steven Saylor

By terje | Published: March 31, 2009
430 pages. Robinson paperback. 1992. 72 BCE: While Spartacus is ravaging the countryside of Southern Italy and making all good Romans distrust their slaves, Goridanus the Finder is brought to Baiae on the Cup, what today is known as the Bay of Naples, to find a killer. Lucius Licinius, the cousin of Marcus Crassus, has been found murdered [...]
Also posted in Review, Roman stuff | 4 Comments

Roman Blood by Steven Saylor

By terje | Published: March 27, 2009
565 pages. Robinson paperback. 1991. First installation of the series Roma Sub Rosa. Roman Blood sends us back in time to 80 BCE, to the final weeks of the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The relatively young and unknown advocate Marcus Tullius Cicero seeks the help of Gordianus the Finder in unearthing evidence to help him defend his friend’s [...]
Also posted in Review, Roman stuff | 6 Comments

The First Book of Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber

By terje | Published: March 24, 2009
Containing the four short-story collections “Swords & Deviltry”, “Swords against Death”, “Swords in the Mist” and “Swords against Wizardry”, The First Book of Lankhmar is a must-read for any serious lover of Fantasy. Fritz Leiber’s Sword & Sorcery has to be counted among the many who created the clichés of the genre, especially as Leiber [...]
Also posted in Review, Speculative fiction | 1 Comment

The friends you keep… — 2009-02-06

By terje | Published: February 6, 2009
“Socrates himself seems not to have been interested in any revolutionary implications of his discourse, but they were not lost on some of the young men who enjoyed watching him dissect the flawed logic of his interlocutors. (..) The most vicious of the self-styled Socratics was Critias, not only the leader of the oligarchs who seized control [...]
Also posted in Greek stuff, History, Politics, Quote of the day | 3 Comments

Growing but grudging respect for an awesomely cold people — 2009-01-28

By terje | Published: January 28, 2009
“In order to stay in formation, soldiers tried not to run until they came within the reach of enemy missiles, at about 200 yards; experienced soldiers might manage to restrain themselves until they were at a mere 100 yards distance. (…) Spartan hoplites did not run at all, but advanced at a steady pace, singing marching hymns [...]
Also posted in Awe, Education, Goosebumps!, Greek stuff, History, Language, Quote of the day, Whoa, lol | 2 Comments

Terje’s Best of 2008

By terje | Published: January 20, 2009
Okay, so I had intended to choose the ten best books I read in 2008, the ten best movies I saw for the first time, and the ten best albums I bought, right? Unfortunately, it turned out I hadn’t really read as many as ten great books this year, so I decided to throw in [...]
Also posted in Impressions, Lists, Movies, Music, Recommendations | 33 Comments

Sky of Swords by Dave Duncan

By terje | Published: January 20, 2009
450 pages. Eos Fantasy paperback. 2000. Third published novel in the Tales of the King’s Blades trilogy. So. Denouement, eh? After having spent Lord of the Fire Lands setting up pretty much an alternative plotline to the one told in The Gilded Chain, Dave Duncan endeavours to straighten things out again in Sky of Swords. Obviously, any such an [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Annoyance, Boredom, Disappointment, Discomfort, Great Expectations, Rant, Review, Speculative fiction, meh. | 6 Comments

Lord of the Fire Lands by Dave Duncan

By terje | Published: December 30, 2008
1999. 457 pages. Eos Fantasy Paperback. A Tale of the King’s Blades (#2). Somewhere off the coast of Chivial, the kingdom where most of The Gilded Chain takes place, are the Baelish islands. The Baels are a warlike and maritime people, so remniscent of Vikings we’d be talking plagiarism if the Vikings hadn’t been public domain material, and Lord [...]
Also posted in Review, Speculative fiction, Whoa | Leave a comment